I absolutely could not resist. When
Food52 posted this past week's
contest requiring a pairing of citrus and olives, and I knew I would be bringing a pancetta and comté cheese quiche to a Superbowl party, I had to enter....Plus,
Mrs. Wheelbarrow had, just the week before, announced the new Food52 and Charcutepalooza
partnership. It was fate....
I love orange and olive salads. I like the color of black olives, although my favorite for taste is the picholine. Since I live in a very rural area in north Idaho, I was lucky enough to receive a jar of mixed "French" olives for Christmas. This became the perfect moment to enjoy those olives. I know that some are picholines and some are niçoise, but other than that, it's a gamble. At least they still had flavor. I put several in the salad. I used both navel and blood oranges because I cannot resist the color. And, at the moment, we have Maya sweet onions at the local grocery store, so that became my onion of choice. Actually, they are sweet, but they don't hold a candle to our almost local WallaWallas.
As for the quiche, well, I have been making a number of pancetta dishes for the
February Charcutepalooza challenge, and for the Superbowl party I thought a quiche would be a good "finger food." Since the pancetta has such a different flavor than bacon, and since I had some Comté, I thought that sounded like a rather good combination and, from comments made, people really liked it. Two challenges, two simple and classic dishes. What could be better?
Orange Suprème and French Olive Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette
1 navel orange, suprèmed
1 blood orange, suprèmed
French olives, to tasted, pitted
Thinly sliced sweet onion
Romaine lettuce
Salt and pepper
Suprème both oranges by removing all membranes, skin, and pith. Many
videos are available online. If you're relatively skillful with a knife, hold the peeled orange in your hand, over a bowl, while cutting out the membranes. This saves the juice for the salad.
Using the flat blade of a knife, push down on the olives to remove the pits.
Very thinly slice about a quarter of a sweet onion.
With your hands, tear enough romaine lettuce for two into your preferred bite sized pieces, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix in the simple sherry dressing.
Top with some navel and blood orange suprème segments, olives, and onion.
Sherry Vinaigrette for Two
1 T. Spanish sherry vinegar
2 T. olive oil
1 T. juice from orange suprèmes
Mix thoroughly.
Pancetta and Comté Quiche
Pie Crust:
1 1/4 c. flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 c. chilled butter (unsalted)
scant 1/4 c. ice water
Combine flour and salt in food processor bowl. Cut the butter into approximately 12-14 small pieces. Add to flour. Pulse on and off until it resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle in water until it loosely comes together after several more pulses. Lie large crumbles on plastic wrap, Using the wrap over your hands, slowly mold this into a flat round. Refridgerate for about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from fridge and roll, turning, until large enough for quiche pan. Make sure you have enough to cover the edges. Cut off excess.
Filling:
1 1/2 cups shredded Comté cheese
4 eggs
1 3/4 c. half-and-half or cream
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
4 slices cooked pancetta, cut into large dice
1 T. butter
Sprinkle 1/4 - 1/3 of the cheese over the bottom of pie shell. Beat the eggs with half-and-half, salt, and nutmeg. Fold in the pancetta and cheese. Pour into quiche crust and dot with butter. Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes, until middle is slightly puffed and golden brown. Let cool and serve.
Pancetta beginnings. So, before the February challenge, my husband and I had already received a pork belly for Christmas, so, we ate half the pork belly braised, and now we're making foods using our cured pork belly. However, I want to be part of the monthly challenges and deadlines for Charcutepalooza so last Thursday, I picked up another half of pork belly. On Friday I started the curing process and have been massaging the salt and herb into it everyday. We'll probably do the tight roll on Saturday.
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